Tea country pork curry

Peter Kuruvita prepares a firery pork curry in the stunning teafields of Sri Lanka. While this curry isn't for the faint hearted, the coconut laden pol rotti and carrot sambol accompaniments work to temper the spices and together they create a sublime dish.

• serves

  4-6

• prep

  45 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

Pork curry

• 1 kg pork shoulder, cubed
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 3 tsp crushed black pepper
• 4 pieces of goroka 
• 8 cardamom pods, cracked
• ¼ tsp fenugreek 
• 1 tsp roasted curry powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 stick of cinnamon, broken up
• ghee
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• 1 pandan leaf, roughly torn
• 4 green chillies, chopped
• 3 cm piece ginger, roughly chopped
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 litre water
• 2 limes, juiced 
• 3 tbsp chilli flakes

Pol rotti

• 500 g atta flour
• 50 g ghee
• 3 green chillies, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 sprig curry leaves, finely chopped
• 1 cup freshly grated coconut
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 tsp salt
• 100 ml oil, to fry

Carrot sambol

• 1 carrot, grated
• 2 green chilli, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 lime, juiced 
• 1 clove garlic, very finely chopped
• ½ cup coconut
• 1 sprig curry leaves, finely chopped
• 2 tsp crushed maldive fish
• salt and pepper

Instructions

To make the pork curry, place the pork in a bowl with the pepper, chilli powder, goroka, cardamom pods, fenugreek, curry powder, salt and cinnamon. Using your hands, massage the spice mix into the pork. Set aside to marinate.

Meanwhile, prepare the dough for the pol rotti. In a large bowl, place the flour, ghee, chillies, onion, curry leaves and coconut. Add the water and salt and knead to form a smooth dough. Break the dough into balls, place into a bowl and set aside until ready to fry.

Once the dough has been prepared, temper the spices for the pork. Heat the ghee in a pot over high heat and add the curry leaves and pandan leaf. Fry until fragrant and then add the green chilli, ginger, onions and garlic. Fry, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent.

Add the pork and enough water to cover it. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat. Leave to simmer for 35 minutes, or until the pork has cooked through.

While the curry is cooking, prepare the carrot sambol.

Once the sambol is ready, fry the rotti.

Serve the curry accompanied by the rotti and a small portion of the carrot sambol.

To cook the pol rotti, using your fingers, form each ball into a thin disc. Heat a small amount of the oil in a flat pan over high heat. Place a disc onto the heat, frying one side until it is loose enough to come off the pan. Flip and cook the other side until lightly crisped. Repeat with remaining dough.

To make the carrot sambol, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.